Early Review: THE GIRL KING

Early Review:  THE GIRL KINGThe Girl King by Mimi Yu
three-half-stars
Series: The Girl King #1
Published by Bloomsbury YA on January 8, 2019
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 432
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

 
 
 
 
 
 

MY REVIEW:

Mimi Yu’s debut novel The Girl King is an Asian-inspired fantasy that is filled to the brim with political intrigue, sibling rivalry, betrayal, rebellion, and of course, magic. It follows Lu and Min, two sisters who are as different as night and day, and who are princesses of the Empire.  Lu, the more outspoken and rebellious of the two, believes that their father (against their mother’s wishes) is about to name her as his successor, which would make her the Empire’s first female ruler. Min, the more docile and reserved sister, also believes that Lu is destined to be Empress and that her own role is simply to continue being the meek and dutiful daughter that makes their mother happy.

It’s also not only the sisters who expect Lu to be named the next ruler.  Most of the citizens of the Empire expect it as well. So, when the unthinkable happens and their father names their cousin Set as the new Emperor instead and proclaims that Lu’s destiny will be to marry Set, chaos ensues on all sides. Lu feels betrayed and Min is utterly bewildered.  Determined to reclaim her birthright at all costs, Lu sets out to find allies who will help her take back the throne.  In doing so, however, she leaves her sister Min behind.  Min’s future has also been up-ended, both by their father’s proclamation and by Lu’s desertion.  What role will Min play now that everything has been turned upside down?

The three main characters of The Girl King were the story’s biggest draw for me.

  • Lu.  I really liked Lu’s fierceness and determination, and that she’s a bit of a rebel.  Most of all though, I liked her self-confidence.  She truly feels that she is more than capable of taking her father’s place as ruler of the Empire.  The fact that she would be the first female ruler doesn’t faze her in the least.  Some may find her arrogant, but I just found it refreshing that she knows what she wants and feels ready for the responsibility.  My heart broke for her when her father announced that Set, a cousin that Lu despises, would be named the next ruler instead of Lu.
  • Min.  Min was a little harder to get to know, mainly because she’s so quiet and retreating compared to Lu.  She functions as little more than a secondary character while Lu is around.  Even relegated to the background, however, Min still got to me.  I still found myself really caring about her and feeling protective of her.  It seemed like no good could come from her being left behind at the palace without Lu there as a buffer between her and anyone else who might try to take advantage of her meek nature.  I don’t want to give away anything too spoilery but I will say that the transformation Min undergoes throughout the course of The Girl King wins her the Most Shocking Character award.  It’s amazing what can happen when someone is just pushed way too far!
  • Nokhai (or Nok). Nok was actually probably my favorite character.  As much as I enjoyed the sibling dynamic between Lu and Min, I just found Nokhai’s story equally, if not more, compelling than theirs.  Nok is a wolf shapeshifter, and thanks to Min and Lu’s father wiping out his people, Nok is the last surviving one of his kind. Unable to master this shapeshifting power that he has, Nok has been in hiding and would prefer to stay that way, However, when he and Lu meet up out in the forest, he finds himself drawn into an awkward alliance with her and vows to help her reclaim the throne.  I love how the author infuses this character with so much complexity and inner turmoil.  On the one hand, he hates the Empire and everything it stands for, but on the other, there’s something about Lu that makes him believe he can trust her to be a just ruler.  Add to that Nok’s immense frustration that he cannot master his power and that there is no one left to teach him how to do so and we have ourselves an emotional mess of a character.  Nok just needed a hug so badly.

Aside from the characters, I also thought the worldbuilding was wonderful too.  Everything is just so detailed and vivid. There’s a complex and very cool magic system of course, but there’s also spirits, shapeshifters, prophecies, and even a hidden city and temples.  I do wish I was more familiar with Asian folklore and history so that I could have appreciated it even more, but I was still quite captivated by the world the author has constructed.

The author also strikes a nice balance between action and emotion.  While much of the story feels quite character driven as Lu, Min, and Nok are each battling their own inner demons, there is also a very strong plot that is filled with political intrigue, betrayal, and epic fight scenes.

Overall, I found The Girl King to be a very entertaining read.  My only real complaint was that I wish the story had felt a little more original.  I guess I’ve just read too many stories where the rightful ruler goes into exile and has to come back and fight for their throne.  It was a nice twist to have that rightful ruler be a female this time though.

There were also a couple of plot twists regarding Nok that I found somewhat predictable.  Predicting how things would turn out didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the story, although I always prefer to be kept guessing for as long as possible to build suspense.

If you like fierce heroines, sibling rivalries, vivid worldbuilding, and political intrigue, I think you would find The Girl King to your liking.  I found it to be a very solid debut for Mimi Yu and look forward to seeing where the second book in the series takes me.

 

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

Two sisters become unwitting rivals in a war to claim the title of Emperor in this sweeping tale of ambition, sacrifice and betrayal for readers of Sabaa Tahir and Alwyn Hamilton.

All hail the Girl King.

Sisters Lu and Min have always understood their places as princesses of the Empire. Lu knows she is destined to become the dynasty’s first female ruler, while Min is resigned to a life in her shadow. Then their father declares their male cousin Set the heir instead—a betrayal that sends the sisters down two very different paths.

Determined to reclaim her birthright, Lu goes on the run. She needs an ally—and an army—if she is to succeed. Her quest leads her to Nokhai, the last surviving wolf shapeshifter. Nok wants to keep his identity secret, but finds himself forced into an uneasy alliance with the girl whose family killed everyone he ever loved…

Alone in the volatile court, Min’s hidden power awakens—a forbidden, deadly magic that could secure Set’s reign…or allow Min to claim the throne herself. But there can only be one Emperor, and the sisters’ greatest enemy could turn out to be each other.

three-half-stars

About Mimi Yu

Mimi Yu was born and raised in rural upstate New York. Her hometown is the site of both the Women’s Rights Convention (1848) and the largest active landfill in New York State (ongoing).

She currently resides in the SF Bay Area of California, and soon she will live near Chicago. She has never been a midwesterner before, but she does enjoy a good casserole.

Besides books, Mimi likes quilting, gardening, drawing, picking up heavy weights, and pop music. She has four planets in Aquarius. She knows a little bit about a lot of animals, and far too much about cats.

Early Review: AN ANONYMOUS GIRL by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Early Review:  AN ANONYMOUS GIRL by Greer Hendricks and Sarah PekkanenAn Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen
Also by this author: The Wife Between Us, You Are Not Alone
four-stars
Published by St. Martin's Press on January 8, 2019
Genres: Thriller, Mystery
Pages: 384
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

MY REVIEW:

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen was one of my favorite thrillers from last year, so when I heard this duo had collaborated on another book, I couldn’t request it from Netgalley fast enough.  And as much as I enjoyed The Wife Between Us, I think their latest effort, An Anonymous Girl, is an even more riveting read.  It was a nail biter from start to finish and it seemed to actually just get creepier and creepier with each turn of the page!

An Anonymous Girl follows Jess Farris, a 28-year old make-up artist who is struggling to make ends meet.  When the opportunity to take part in a psychology experiment that pays its participants $500 falls into her lap, Jess jumps at the chance to make some easy cash.  Jess thinks she’s going to waltz in, answer a few anonymous questions about morality and ethics for Dr. Lydia Shields, grab her $500, and go.  What she doesn’t anticipate is getting sucked into a manipulative game of cat and mouse orchestrated by Dr. Shields that threatens to turn Jess’ whole world upside down.

This is one of those books where it’s best to go in knowing as little as possible so I’m going to be pretty vague in my explanation of what I liked about it.  Here were some of the highlights for me:

I loved the way the story is presented from the perspectives of both Jess and Dr. Shields.  The way Dr. Shields would manipulate Jess and then sit back and watch her like she was a lab rat in a cage lent the story such a creepy and suspenseful atmosphere.  Coupling those chapters with chapters from Jess where you can see what’s going on in her head as Dr. Shields keeps drawing her deeper and deeper into her twisted game had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading.  Dr. Shields gets so far inside Jess’ head that she can barely perform the simplest task without wondering how Dr. Shields would judge her for her choices.

Also adding to the creepy factor is the fact that in the chapters from Dr. Shields’ perspective, she thinks of herself in the third person. It’s as if she is observing herself as part of an experiment as well.  It gives her a cold and clinical vibe, which is in sharp contrast to Jess, who comes across as resourceful but naïve.

Some other highlights for me are that the pacing is near perfect. I never once lost interest in the plot and easily breezed through this novel in a sitting or two.  Also, as with The Wife Between Us, Hendricks and Pekkanen are truly in sync with one another and the writing just flows so smoothly and effortlessly.

I know I keep using the word creepy, but the dark nature of An Anonymous Girl is what really stuck with me after I finished the last page. Even though it starts out focusing on morality and ethics, it takes a very dark and dangerous turn into the realm of obsession and manipulation.  I love those books that have you practically screaming at the main characters to turn around and run away, and this is a prime example of a book like that.

Overall, I thought this was a fantastic and compelling read.  There were a couple of plot twists that I thought came together a little too conveniently, but that didn’t at all take away from my enjoyment of the story.

If you’re looking for a mind blowing psychological thriller to get your 2019 reading off to a stellar start, I highly recommend An Anonymous Girl.

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed. 

When Jessica Farris signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money, and leave. But as the questions grow more and more intense and invasive and the sessions become outings where Jess is told what to wear and how to act, she begins to feel as though Dr. Shields may know what she’s thinking…and what she’s hiding. As Jess’s paranoia grows, it becomes clear that she can no longer trust what in her life is real, and what is one of Dr. Shields’ manipulative experiments. Caught in a web of deceit and jealousy, Jess quickly learns that some obsessions can be deadly.

four-stars

About Greer Hendricks

GREER HENDRICKS spent over two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster. Prior to her tenure in publishing, she worked at Allure Magazine and obtained her Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and Publishers Weekly. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two children, The Wife Between Us is her first novel.

Follow Greer Hendricks on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

About Sarah Pekkanen

Internationally bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen’s newest book is THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS. She is also the co-author of the upcoming THE WIFE BETWEEN US (out in January 2018).

Her prior novels are: THINGS YOU WON’T SAY, CATCHING AIR, THE BEST OF US, THE OPPOSITE OF ME, SKIPPING A BEAT, and THESE GIRLS.

Sarah’s linked free short estories, published by Simon&Schuster exclusively for ereaders, are titled “All is Bright,” and “Love, Accidentally.”

Sarah is the mother of three young boys, which explains why she writes part of her novels at Chuck E. Cheese. Sarah penned her first book, Miscellaneous Tales and Poems, at the age of 10. When publishers failed to jump upon this literary masterpiece (hey, all the poems rhymed!) Sarah followed up by sending them a sternly-worded letter on Raggedy Ann stationery. Sarah still has that letter, and carries it to New York every time she has meetings with her publisher, as a reminder that dreams do come true.

Her website is www.sarahpekkanen.com and please find her on Facebook Instagram and Twitter @sarahpekkanen!

Can’t Wait Wednesday – DEATH PREFERS BLONDES by Caleb Roehrig

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll just be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is DEATH PREFERS BLONDES by Caleb Roehrig.  This book first caught my eye because of that wild cover, but the book itself sounds just as wild so I can’t wait to read it.  I mean, seriously.  Teenage socialite by day, cat burglar by night, four kickboxing drag queens?  Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

 

DEATH PREFERS BLONDES by Caleb Roehrig

Publication Date: January 29, 2019

 

 

From Goodreads:

Teenage socialite Margo Manning leads a dangerous double life. By day, she dodges the paparazzi while soaking up California sunshine. By night, however, she dodges security cameras and armed guards, pulling off high-stakes cat burglaries with a team of flamboyant young men. In and out of disguise, she’s in all the headlines.

But then Margo’s personal life takes a sudden, dark turn, and a job to end all jobs lands her crew in deadly peril. Overnight, everything she’s ever counted on is put at risk. Backs against the wall, the resourceful thieves must draw on their special skills to survive. But can one rebel heiress and four kickboxing drag queens withstand the slings and arrows of truly outrageous fortune? Or will a mounting sea of troubles end them — for good?

 

 

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I Read in 2018

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Best Books I Read in 2018.  This was a tough list to put together, as you’ll see by the fact that I’ve given you my Top 13 because I couldn’t narrow to just 10 favorites.  The way I picked my favorites was to start on Goodreads and see how many books I had given 5 star (or 4.5 rounded up to 5) reviews to.  I had quite a few more than 10, so then I narrowed from there by selecting the books that resonated the most with me.  Those were the ones I’m still thinking about even if it has been months since I read them and they’re also the ones that I tend to recommend most to fellow readers.  Also, not all of these were published in 2018.  At least two of these were backlist reads that I loved.

Anyway, here’s my list.  Happy New Year, everyone!  Here’s to a great reading year for us all in 2019!

 

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Best Books I Read in 2018

(in no particular order)

 

THE WINTER OF THE WITCH by Katherine Arden

MUSE OF NIGHTMARES by Laini Taylor

THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah

THE CRUEL PRINCE by Holly Black

LETTERS TO THE LOST by Brigid Kemmerer

THE DREAM DAUGHTER by Diane Chamberlain

CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi

SADIE by Courtney Summers

VICIOUS by V.E. Schwab

INTO THE BLACK NOWHERE by Meg Gardiner

ONCE UPON A RIVER by Diane Setterfield

GIRL MADE OF STARS by Ashley Herring Blake

THE LAST TIME I LIED by Riley Sager

 

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What were some of your favorite reads of 2018?  Do we share any favorites?